by Minna vander Pfaltz
In fact, the US has outsources much to China: bullets, boots, wool blankets, etc. The US purchases such at greatly reduced cost. Even so,dunderheads, It’s not the maker who’s at fault, it’s the guy who pulls the trigger. But the US has been involved in a similar slaughter (of one person): he made “empty” bullets for the Germans and hid Jews; but because he was a party member, the US cheered his execution: Schindler.
The US bought work by the Chinese many years ago: bullets, materiel, boots, wool blankets, etc. But you see, its not the maker of the bullet that’s important, it’s whether the bullet kills you…& perhaps the puller of the trigger. Someone is pulling the trigger. To wit: the US.
by Min’n Jim
Americans love monopolies: look at the right way of doing things, as advertised. The implicit order is not to do it any other way because it is wrong/inappropriate. Speak about a population of one mind! Everyone afeared to go their own way. Be the same, be happy.
If a narrow street has no centre line, it is appropriate to drive down the middle of the street as fast as you can, children be damned. This is good for getting to the end of the street; it is also good for running away from the person you ran down—and the police will do nothing, as happened to Jimsecor’s good friend as she crossed 23rd St., her guide dog leading the way.
If you fall and can’t get up, the Fire Dept. will come in full Firetruck mode to pick you up and make sure you’re not hurt. We’re sure there is no better method for embarrassment. Just because Jimsecor’s frail, disabled and unsteady on his feet does not mean he wants the neighborhood to know that he once again hit the ground/floor—and it would be “once again.” This year, 11 dives. [I’m not frail!]
Under 21 grocery cashiers cannot even touch a 6-pack of beer. A communicable disease? Perhaps if the kid were an octopus. . .
Speaking of which, did you know octopuses are, in fact, aliens?
In 2016 The Great Wall was released, directed by Zhang Yimo. Movies of this scope & adventure are not produced in the States. At least, not since DW Griffith. Oh, so nice, to have a movie usurped by ill-placed kissy-kissy love scenes with the thinnest connection to the movie itself. This movie might be classed as a romance (as opposed to a romantic) movie. Minmin sat on the edge of her seat the entire time. [He’s not my sugar daddy, so I am forever coming to movies (over priced on DVD) late.]
The disgustingly greedy & snotty announcement before a movie. . .let me see if I can, with one example, show you how this works. A DVD is, more or less, $30. It probably costs the company $1.00-$2.00 to make one DVD. In China, $30 is about 210 RMB; for many, this is ½ a month’s salary. The only American company that brought down its product cost was Pepsi. It’s not surprising Americans want to milk the populace: Greed is our corporate nick name. And Interpol can’t do anything about it, Interpol has no jurisdiction anywhere.
Semanticists telling semanticists that their semantics are just semantics &, therefore, their arguments are inconsequential. This, in order to keep everything within the accepted norm. God help us if we think outside the box! The ‘box’ being the accepted norm. PC.
Protesting by doing absolutely nothing à la Senator “Cocaine” McConnell. Chalmers Johnson pointed out that this was the surest way to rebellion, a senator doing nothing ad withholding possibly unkind to him from reaching the floor. The book is less than 50 pp, so not beyond the average senator’s ability’s. First edition. Anybody for the French Revolution right here in Great old America? Let’s hope it’s the Indians & not the illiterate White Supremacists. At least the Injuns have a gripe to attend to.
Libertarians = anacharianists = choasionists. Libertarian = small gov’t = no gov’t subsidies for nothing. No Medicare/Medicaid, streets full of potholes, electrical lines down, yellow greensward, no curb to Pharmaceutical companies’ greed; no insurance, so no hit & run statutes. And, no sense. Making America Great Again.
Piracy, Stealing is a victimless crime, no manner how you count it. Without gov’t, without law, how scarce lawyers.
Tell us, what is Representation sans itself?
Whiney Millennarians who do nothing, play the old blame game & don’t do anything.
Buses for the disabled.
New jeans with holes and pulled threads are the predominant Fashion.
It seems that the bus for the handicapped, which used to be available to all handicapped and accessible for Jimsecor, now has no buses for him at all. No transportation for shopping. No transportation to the doctor’s office. No transportation to the hospital. It seems that the disabled bus line is handicapping itself. Jimsecor has been found to have one occluded cardiac artery, which now has a stent in it to keep it open & congestive heart failure. It is now supporting the made up fact, for not being eligible for the bus service via “finding my way” home via a friend is proof positive that he (Jimsecor) doesn’t deserve the transportation. Apparently he’s problem-solving skills than the people running the bus line can drum up for themselves. “Die you motherfucker!” Jimsecor has undergone some problem solving & has determined that Jimsecor’s intellectual abilities far outweigh his physable disabilities. To wit:- Cardio-logic showed an occluded artery that was immediately fixed via a stent; Jimsecor was so filled with “water” that he was placed on Lasix, medication that removes fluid. So, his legs are no longer swollen & pain is now less. This is CHF (Congestive Heart Failure, a chronic progressive condition in which fluid builds up within the heart and causes it to pump inefficiently). High dose of Lasix brought his leg swelling down & saw about 3000 cc (100 fl oz) of fluid removed from his heart.
There is here, in Lawrence, KS, a woman who is exceptional: in the dead of dark night she can discern one black cat from another black cat. No one in the world can do this–and yet she lives in obscurity. We should all award her for this feat. It has saved a cat’s life.
by Minna vander Pfaltz w/ a comment here & there by Jimsecor
Now, let’s see. . .baby boomers gave you life—a hell of a lot of it. If it weren’t for the baby boomers, there would be no millennials, millennials who whine about everything like a three year old who has a problem.
Velcro.
A way to the stars. The sending of Voyager 1 & 2 into deep space with updates telling us of new discoveries in deep space. The Millennials launch their cars.
Protesting, bastardized by subsequent legal beagles.
Flip flops.
Me–& I’ll outlive you all.
Clean rivers & environmental programs.
Only one idiot war that only produced cripples, cynical war & vets and telling music & movies. The Millennials have brought about a full Middle East war and invaded a country that has not fallen ever: Afghanistan. It took 10 more years of not reading to discover this. But, what the hell, there was no reason to invade in the first place.
The Muppets.
Ray Bradbury.
Betty Crocker– & I still use the 2nd edition, the book my mother used.
Dr. Spock’s Baby Book—ah! Must be because your mommy didn’t use it. Sorry.
Fast cars. Rich cars.
Computers. And what have you done with them? Hacking (theft). Passing along disinformation faster & in greater amounts. Watching us express our barbarian nature. Play games.
Close to magic outcomes in surgery.
Alfred Hitchcock. The Millennials have no understanding of build up or psychology. . .or of terror. Piling one horror on another in the name of overkill is not terror at all & comes very close to being sense disabling. Maybe this is a sign of the dull, sameness of a Millennial’s life?
No-iron clothing.
Rogaine.
Braces & near “universal” dental health.
Walmart.
George W. Bush is all on you, as is Trump.
The Millennials have produced Red State America. There are only three other Red State countries in the world. The one characteristic that all have in common is Communism.
The New Jim Crow in all those states.
18-hr deodorant–from us to you for good reason.
GPS.
Good as new eyesight.
Smart watches.
Alive 50 years past expiration date.
The ability to get away
This took a little longer than expected because of Jimsecor’s cardiac catheterization this past Monday. Millennials wouldn’t have this life-saving technology without the Baby Boomers.
Who would have thought our grandchildren would end up a whining lot who don’t have the ability or desire to change what they find “wrong or distasteful” about their land. Instead, they assume the world as they see it will go on forever and all they’ve got is whining and blaming and–by God, they’re going to do a good job of it!
It does appear that it’s the Millennial has gifted the world a black poison apple printshop of lax thinking and troubles.
Mental Illness by Caveat
by
James L. Secor
The dictionary defines “caveat” as: a warning enjoining one from certain acts or practices; or a modifying or cautionary detail to be considered when evaluating, interpreting or doing something.
The reason for this title will become clear not just from my tale but from the APA [American Psychological Association] directly. Shhh! Listen closely. You’ll hear the mice running around, playing. Nobody’s watching. They’re all asleep. The people are asleep to what’s happening to them. And the APA’s asleep to reality. Let’s not forget the APA sanctioned waterboarding and other forms of torture at Guantanamo Bay.
This is a direct quote from the APA: “The unreliability of psychological prediction of dangerousness is now an established fact. Even under the best of conditions, it is wrong at least two out of every three cases.”
A psychologist’s answer: “We could do better with a role of the dice.”
And. . .there are no tests for mental illness. How can there be when mental illnesses are no more than loose collections of vaguely-defined problems of thinking, feeling and behaving. The noted labels aren’t coherent entities of any sort, just x number of signs out of x total possibilities. It’s like taking a multiple choice test where there is no right answer. No physical illness is diagnosed based on a conglomeration of some bunch of symptoms from a list of all possible symptoms. Let us not forget Typhoid Mary who had the disease and showed no symptoms; she carried the typhus disease bacteria and passed it along, creating havoc, yet did not evince any of the known symptoms of the disease. None of all possible choices. By the diagnosing standards of mental illness, she would not be ill–as she maintained all her life. Mental illnesses are nothing more than labels of no explanatory significance–and they are not even good labels as they are so vague.
I guess it’s all mental craps. Because what the APA is implying is that the “normal” population is more dangerous and, thus, the group of people who should be watched carefully are those normals. The normals are the ones dangerous two out of three times–and there is a Murphy’s Law coming up for ratification. There is also a political move to have everyone in the country tested for mental illness, child, adolescent and adult. Once. There is going to be one test administered during the life time of each and every person. This is ludicrous. But, then, when politics gets itself involved in matters medical, especially in a medical area of non-definition, the result is always ludicrous. The possibility of error in such a situation is unquantifiable. And, even on the individual level, there is no test that can elicit a diagnosis of mental illness, albeit the MMPI [Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory] can indicate if you may be in a depressed mood. Which, of course, does not indicate a diagnosis of mental illness.
Ergo, claiming the social mass shootings are due to the mentally ill is wrong; they are due to the normal in the population. What is known is that some of these shooters were taking anti-depressants because they were depressed–everybody gets depressed. That is, they were taking medicine known for making people more depressed, making people suicidal, making people aggressive and short on the fuse. Big PHRMA hushes up these news items because the open truth would hurt their multi-billion dollar business dealing in harmful and socially disruptive drugs. Better it is to create drugs that fuck people up and create social malfeasance than not. So that it is worth questioning why they would want to help and cure people? If people are asymptomatic, sales go down and that’s not good. No, no, no.
So, what’s the caveat here? Brain disease? There’s no such thing as brain disease. So, of course, there are no tests available to prove brain disease. Any kind of brain disease. When you are not ill, you are not ill; that is, when you are not ill, you are healthy; when you are healthy you are not showing symptoms; when the external stimuli are gone, so are your symptoms relieved.
Mental refers to what the brain does. What the brain does no one truly knows. Mental is your mind working. Mind? No one knows where mind “is,” if it is anywhere in particular. Thinking, too: what is thinking? Where are those thoughts? Point to ’em, won’t you? Feeling. Purpose, intention. Values, ideas, love, fears. Angst. Elation. These things, these mentals that we can’t see and can’t find and can’t define, these mentalities nevertheless run our lives. Terrance Deacon calls these characteristics “absentials” because they are “not there.” Because all mental functions are pointed toward some unseen end, they have purpose, which he calls “ententional”; that is, an ententional process–because the brain is all about processes–are expressions of finality, active processes going toward some end product that is not there as well. All of our living brings about some end or other. And if we’re all sick, suffering from a brain disease, what the hell’s going on? Shouldn’t we be able to define it? Specifically, not vaguely. How, though, can we define and delimit what isn’t “there”? Are we all delusional–including the testers and diagnosing people?
Because these mind-made things don’t have any physical presence, where in the brain do they arise? And where are they when they do manifest themselves? Where are they going? The people who have no feelings are the sociopaths, according to society. It sounds a lot like Big PHRMA doesn’t care what happens to people as long as they get their money, as there is no real reason for giving the medication sans disease. Once again, where’s the disease? (In your head.)
How can this be? The mind organizes and interprets and creates meaning out of other things, the chaos of the things of life, the life around us. Some of it we pay attention to and some of it we don’t. There is a floating choice; e.g., walking or driving we pay attention to the traffic, in the house we do not. That’s the brain’s job, to make sense of the world around us. That’s the mind working. But. . .where is “mind”? Even though it is intrinsic to the brain, it is, in fact, nowhere. As it is intrinsic to the brain it is mental; as it is intrinsic to the brain it is normal.
How can something that has no physical existence be classified as ill–or not? For illness relates to the physical: your body becomes ill, your heart becomes ill, your kidneys become ill. How can you have an illness of something that is not here, there and yet everywhere?
So, mental illness is the illness of the entire human world? Worldview? Apperception? A diagnosis of hallucination is given to people who experience things that are not “there.” Do we have a grand guignol of fundamentalist Buddhism?
R.D. Laing would say this kind or diagnosis is, itself, illusion but to be expected, for we live in a dysfunctional, abusive society. Thus the reasoning for diagnosing mental illness is part and parcel of the dysfunction and follows his three rules of an abusive society: “Rule A: Don’t. Rule A1: Rule A does not exist. Rule A2: Rule A1 does not exist.” Consequences? If you break a rule there is something wrong with you, you are insane, crazy, mentally ill. You are delusional because “everybody” knows it just ain’t so.
For instance, racism is abuse. Even with the obvious racism of certain people, the police, politicos, bureaucrats and the racial uprisings, all these social status quos maintain there is no racism. People who maintain there is racism are breaking rules A, A1 and A2. How fucking dare they! To the point that worthy news items are killed because they question the status quo, i.e., the abuse and dysfunction that is society.
So, then, who is insane? Who is mental? Who is mentally ill?
The caveat.
However, the consortium who made up out of whole cloth the DSM V have taken up the position that everything we do–the people, the lower sorts, everyman–is a diagnosable mental illness. Abnormal. Some of those deciders are doctors paid by Big PHRMA. Some of those deciders aren’t even doctors; they are health insurance representatives who are interested in a sick society because they won’t make any money otherwise. So, too, are the APA drug pushers. “Goddamn the pusher man!”
Ergo, all of the problems in society being due to the mentally ill, the elite status quo setters can continue to deny their culpability. Their abusive behavior. This kind of denial is a psychologically maladaptive behavior.
Brett Deacon, Ph.D. has succinctly set up a situation that is normal, everyday in psychological circles, showing how reactions to external stimuli become symptoms of a diseased mind. And the Psychiatrists and Behaviorists just happen to have the medical cure. . .
“Therapist: How are you?
Client: My house is on fire!
Therapist: I’m sorry to hear that. How are you feeling?
Client: I’m terrified! My dog is trapped inside! All my possessions are burning! What am I going to do?
Therapist: I understand that you’re upset. What’s going through your mind?
Client: I can’t believe this is happening! It doesn’t seem real. It’s like I’m dreaming or something.
Therapist: Do you also feel detached from yourself or your surroundings?
Client: Yeah, I feel like I’m in a daze. You hear about this happening to people but never think it can happen to you.
Therapist: I understand. These are common symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder. It’s a mental illness some people experience in response to a traumatic event.
Client: What do you mean mental illness? My house is on fire! My dog is trapped inside!
Therapist: I’m not saying you have a mental illness, only that you might have one. We’ll have to wait two more days and see if your symptoms continue before we know for certain.
Client: What symptoms?
Therapist: Symptoms like feeling unreal and being in a daze, and other symptoms like having upsetting memories and nightmares about the fire.
Client: Aren’t those to be expected?
Therapist: It’s normal to feel upset when something bad happens. But if you have a variety of symptoms that last for at least three days, and they bother you, then you may be suffering from a mental illness.
Client: Uh, okay. But what am I supposed to do? My house is on fire! My dog is trapped inside!
Therapist: Let me teach you some skills for coping with your negative thoughts and feelings. If you are feeling upset, breathe slowly and count to ten while thinking “relax.” You can also tense and relax your muscles. Negative thoughts can be replaced by positive thoughts, like memories of funny movies or times when you were happy. You can also imagine your negative thoughts floating past you like clouds in a sky.
Client: Okay. But what am I supposed to DO?
Therapist: Practice your coping skills like we discussed. And come back and see me for another session as soon as possible.
* * * * *
Two weeks later…
Therapist: How are you?
Client: I’m devastated. My house burned to the ground. My dog died. I lost everything.
Therapist: Have you been feeling depressed?
Client: Of course.
Therapist: Have you felt depressed most of the day, nearly every day for the past two weeks?
Client: Since the fire, yes.
Therapist: Have you lost interest in things you used to enjoy?
Client: I guess so. I used to enjoy hanging out with my dog, watching movies, and surfing the internet. But my dog died and all my stuff was destroyed in the fire.
Therapist: How have you been sleeping?
Client: Terrible. I’m staying at a friend’s house on the sofa and their baby cries all night long.
Therapist: Have you felt fatigued or had low energy?
Client: Yeah, I’m tired all the time.
Therapist: Have you been thinking about death a lot?
Client: I can’t stop thinking about my dog. It must have been horrible for him to die in the fire. I miss him so much and can’t believe he is gone. He was my best friend.
Therapist: Have these symptoms been bothering you a lot?
Client: What symptoms?
Therapist: Feeling depressed, losing interest in things you usually enjoy, not sleeping well, loss of energy, and recurrent thoughts of death.
Client: I guess. I’m just really upset and don’t know what to do. I lost my whole life in the fire.
Therapist: I think I understand the problem.
Client: What do you mean?
Therapist: You’re suffering from a mental illness called Major Depressive Disorder, also known as clinical depression. You reported having five symptoms that have persisted for two weeks, and the symptoms are producing significant distress.
Client: Wait a minute. I’m feeling depressed because of the fire. I’ve lost interest in doing things I used to enjoy because I can’t do them anymore because of the fire. I can’t sleep because the baby screams all night long. I feel fatigued because I’m not sleeping. I’m thinking about death a lot because I just lost my best friend.
Therapist: It’s normal to feel sad when something bad happens, like a fire or the death of a loved one. But when symptoms of depression persist and become distressing or interfere with your life, that’s when we know a mental illness is to blame. But don’t worry, you’re not alone. Depression is the most common mental illness. It afflicts millions of people every year. And it’s not your fault: it’s not a sign of weakness or poor character. Depression is a brain-based illness caused by a chemical imbalance. It’s a real medical condition, no different than diabetes or cancer.
Client: I’m confused. Isn’t it normal to feel depressed after what happened? Why are you saying I’m mentally ill?
Therapist: Because your symptoms meet diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder in the DSM-5, our diagnostic manual. Good mental health literacy involves recognizing the symptoms of mental illness. In your case, that means understanding that things like depressed mood, difficulty sleeping, and recurrent thoughts about death are symptoms of clinical depression.
Client: So, you’re saying that thinking I am depressed because of the fire instead of a chemical imbalance in my brain means I have low mental health literacy?
Therapist: That’s right. It’s important to understand that mental illness is real, serious, and treatable. Understanding the facts about mental illness reduces stigma.
Client: It reduces stigma to say I’m mentally ill with a chemical imbalance in my brain?
Therapist: Yes. The best way to combat stigma is by having good mental health literacy. Understanding that depression is a real, treatable illness caused by a broken brain reduces stigma.
Client: But it makes me feel worse about myself to think my brain is defective.
Therapist: Would you look down on someone for having cancer? Would you blame them for being sick?
Client: No, I guess not.
Therapist: When people understand that you’re sick with a real medical condition, and that it can be treated, they will have less stigma toward you.
Client: Wouldn’t it be less stigmatizing to say I feel depressed because my house burned down and my dog died?
Therapist: But that shows low mental health literacy. Remember, depression is a biologically-based mental illness. And the good news is that we have effective treatments for it.
Client: What kind of treatments?
Therapist: Both medication and therapy can help. Antidepressant medications help correct the chemical imbalance that causes depression. Therapy provides emotional support and helps you learn coping skills for managing depressive symptoms.
Client: How do you know I have a chemical imbalance in my brain? Don’t I need to take a test or something?
Therapist: No, that’s not necessary. We can tell your brain has a chemical imbalance because your symptoms meet DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder. Although antidepressant medications are effective, they are only part of the picture. Many people respond best to a combination of medication and therapy.
Client: What does therapy involve?
Therapist: Therapy provides a safe space for you to talk about what’s on your mind each week. I will listen with empathy and no judgment and provide emotional support. I can also teach you skills for coping with your depressive symptoms. These include skills for reducing negative feelings, like slow breathing and muscle relaxation. You can also learn skills for reducing negative thoughts, like replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts and watching your thoughts pass through your mind like clouds in the sky. Having a good relationship with a trusted therapist is the key to success.
Client: What do you mean by success?
Therapist: Having fewer symptoms of depression.
Client: How am I supposed to have fewer negative thoughts and feelings? My house just burned down and my dog died!
Therapist: That’s where the coping skills come in.
Client: But I lost everything. I don’t know where to go from here. What am I supposed to DO?
Therapist: I will refer you to a psychiatrist for a medication consultation. Let’s meet again next week for another treatment session. You can book it with the receptionist when you pay for today’s session.”
(Cf. “House on Fire: A ‘Mental Health Literacy’ Parable,”Brett Deacon, PhD, for the full
article and his comments.) Ergo, we are sick at every turn. Mental health caveat.
I can say no more.
Two of the churches in Wamego, KS, both Southern Baptist, teach knowing the devil—and how they have taken this to heart! Nowhere in the New Testament does Christ or any of his followers teach knowing the devil. Combative organizations do, as in know your enemy, knowing and how to engage him and win. So, does this put the Southern Baptists in Wamego on the offensive? Since they preach destruction, it in fact does. These churches go after evil and unconventional thinkers–especially druggers. Even unto death, for by that path good surely is found and ye will be rewarded. Make them suffer and then kill them. Clean up the world.
But what Christ said was to go out into the world and teach his gospel. His doctrine did not in include terror and death. But Nietzsche’s doctrine of nihilism is included within these churches. Nihilism is about negativism, getting rid of others. Nihilists never think of consequences, yet there are always consequences to any action. And since these churches are negative and all about getting rid of people, they are nihilist. None of them read philosophy, so they’d not know the difference between an apple and a persimmon.
So, with their negative, destructive behavior they are practitioners of Nietzsche’s God is Dead moment. If Christ’s God were alive, there would be no need to destroy others—for any reason. God is dead because some people want to kill anything that they dislike, consequences be damned, for the bad guys deserve what they get. A smoker of marijuana deserves to have his housing and other medical help taken away but someone using opioids for pain is excused. Opioids are heavily addictive; marijuana is not habit forming at all. This is selective killing. It is prejudicial. When people choose whom to get rid of, who is evil, they become Gods, and they have gone into God-is -dead practice. Christ is certainly not welcome in their midst. Nor is forgiveness, empathy and understanding because it is only when God is cut out of the equation we see God-is-dead people standing, standing up and ready for war, for wiping these others out.
What will they do when they’re alone in the world? Nihilists know only one action—destruction, destruction until there is nothing left– truly a clean world. What have you got when you’re the only one. . .or the only ones?
Killing people is not a utensil from Christ’s tool box. It is in the devil’s or with anarchists who believe they are the rule and you’re not. There is no social cohesion or responsibility with these people and the God-is-dead Christians who go about damning and nailing those who use drugs, chiefly. But, really, anybody they do not like.
Present day Sartres? Well, it does nauseate me.
How they hide their antisocial, homicidal souls and then sing on one day how they believe their righteousness about how worthy they are—hallelujah the Lord be praised. It is these types who believe the end of the world is nigh and the more miscreants they can pass judgment on are good marks in their good books with large margins and wide spacing. Big Chief Notebooks. God is the big chief.
They will not find themselves burning in hell. . .they’ve been doing the devil’s work here on earth and he will reward them with cushy chairs, champagne (or other alcoholic, addictive substance) and willing girly devils. The good times roll when you’re a devil to begin with.
They continue their rampage like Ted Bundy on amphetamines because the more miscreants they take out, the greater the reward.
But these heretics are nothing compared with the local hospital who allows these Ted Bundys the time and space for them to blame and badger their chosen drugger upon discharge. Surely they are next in line for a position at Gitmo. All they need is a breakdown and admission of felonious activity to stop the pain, giving these God is dead do-gooders license to do whatever it is they will in recompense.
So, not only do the godlingers have no ethics, the hospital has no ethics.
What to do, what to do.
Americans are up against the greatest block to advancement yet–and we probably won’t get past it. Why? We are stuck in the rut of Rights. Rights to this, Rights to that, Rights, Rights, Rights. But with Covid 19 Rights are not approached–or perhaps passed right on by. What masks have to do with is Social Responsibility. Americans have no sense of social responsibility. My Rights. Me, my, mine. There is no sense of others. No Social Responsibility. We only see one side off the mask: it protects you against others. Put it on the other’s face and it protects them from us.
James L. Secor, Minna vander Pfaltz & Liu Bushi
Bertram Goff called this pleasant slow growth sociopolitical organization Friendly Fascism because it feels good. It feels comfortable. It feels like a protective mother or aunt. All power and understanding are concentrated in her lap as she tells us we need to take a more assertive role in our own interests, for The Public is faceless and faceless things are frightening–and dangerous. There is evil behind that mask. Evil is always there ready to steal our lives, our safety. We must do something about it. We must watch for it and listen for it. Because evil will sneak up on you. Evil can masquerade as good and benevolent. It takes a specialist to uncover it. In this way, we control it, manipulate it, corral it and herd it through loading chutes and into waiting box cars to be whisked away and done away with. We must protect ourselves against it.
Auntie–or mommy–does this for us. Auntie–or mommy–gives us rules to live by. And we feel comfortable and protected because they know best. They would not steer us wrong. They never have. Auntie–or mommy–has our best interests at heart. So that by the time the masquerading evil’s intrusion into our lives becomes apparent, it’s too late. All of the watching and listening, all the surveilling to save us, was a lie. It was to control us. We were tricked.
Fascism. Now, who do you trust?
As faceless fear grows up around us, more and more withholding laws and watchdogs must be put into place until we have what Karl Popper called a closed society. A closed society, walled-in by propriety, laws and behaviors is a safe place to be. Wrongs and woes and bad people are kept at bay because they are easily apprehended. Don’t you feel better already? Safer? All those policing services and listening devices and surveillance cameras keep us safe, we’re told. Nobody in. Nobody out. You can never be too vigilant. And then one day you realize it’s you who are being surveilled for acceptance. It’s you who have been seen as probably evil. Doesn’t it make you feel dirty? Can you see your way out of the swamp? But, maybe you’re wrong. The fascism felt so good and comforting. Nothing could be so twofaced. Right? Forget that evil often masquerades as good. Life is so much easier to live with this denial. Denial helps keep the closed society closed.
Although keeping the bad and disruptive influences out is important, isolating–insulating–ourselves from the big bad wolves, it is the enemy within that is more insidious and, therefore, more demanding of control. What are the standards for that muzzling? The rule of law, law after law, which subsumes everything under its paw. Disgust. Opinion. Dislike. Urban myth. Whatever it is makes you feel uncomfortable, it’ll be made law. There are so many of these, the law(s) becomes entrapping. It’s difficult to journey through the forest, the elemental forest where nothing is what it seems and everything is not quite formed, though it all hides its face behind these as-needed laws. But, of course, there is no need to worry, for only the bad sort become entwined with the law’s brambles. It is amazing that the bad people inflict such horror on us via our fear and paranoia and obsessive drive to build a safe haven world in which nothing changes despite Brave New World. Oh! I forgot. You’ve been told (come to believe) that reading is, at best, useless.
All these laws and guidelines, all these walls, have become our teddy bears. And, so, life is good. Even when we suddenly realize that it’s all a lie. We must deny reality. Deny reality as we have all along. Denial is good stuff. It is comforting. There is no argument for “no it’s not.” And so. . .
What is fascism?
The closest you’ve come to fascism is your beloved religion: this way is the only way. All of you other people, you other-believers are going to hell. George Bush’s you’re either with us or against us is the manner of fascism. That was his religion: ME! I am right. In the end, all religion is fascist: me and fuck the rest of you. And if you question, you are dead.
Fascism is paranoia. It must always keep an eye out for the detractor. Inside and out. Fascism’s raison d’être is to remain in power. Eventually it sees enemies where there are no enemies. We know what happens to enemies of the State. With the increasing of policing organizations, you can be sure the enemy will be found out and eliminated in the name of purity. It’s already underway. How long before you are fingered? I hear you thinking evil thoughts.
Fascism is dictatorship.
Fascism is a society whose members act according to the rules of a fictitious world. The more extreme, the more fertile the ground for terrorism. Paranoia. Into your life it creeps.
Fascism is about destruction of the State for its own good.
Fascism is one party rule, which the US has now. It calls itself Red State America. There are only three other Red States in the world: Communist Russia, Communist China, Communist North Korea. That ought to be frightening to Americans but it is not. Damn fools!
Fascism is above the law. It has to be. It is only interested in itself. It must have freedom to be. Laws hold it back.
Fascism is a totalitarianism, for it can do nothing but become a totalitarian system in its move to destroy the institution of the State–make it small and keep it out of our lives. A State for itself. All in the hands of someone to keep the clankity old machinery going. That someone is a watchdog who has his own best interests at heart. His best interests are the country’s best interests. Auntie–and mommy–tell us so. Else he wouldn’t be the leader.
The Media and Fascism
Jim and/or Minna
More and more Fascism and more and more denial.
The Supreme Court of the United States upheld Der Fürer’s travel ban, along party lines. A Fascist Court (five Republicans) wins and that’s the end of it because they toe the line, got with the program. So, Der Fürer bans all the Muslims from all the countries in the Middle East that are wracked by wars the U.S. generated, all refugees and translators, while allowing into the U.S. all the Muslims from terrorist supporting countries, countries with tyrants, countries that Der Fürer is friendly with. The U.S. thus becomes a terrorist supporting country, a terrorist haven. The only thing new here is that it’s now legal for Muslim terrorists to enter the country and gain asylum. They can plan and execute mass murders from the U.S. with access to great modern technology. All except ISIS.
Muslim terrorists, my ass. These kinds of Muslims are just common mass murderers. But, then, so is the U.S., though under the gaseous mask of Spreading Democracy and in direct mimicking of earlier German Fascist behavior. And, too, under the guise of the right to bear arms. You know how it is, the more children are killed, the fewer future problems for the government.
As Der Fürer likes it, so it is. Don’t you think it’s horrible? Don’t you think it stinks? Well. . .
The little blonde girlie reporting for CNN about the Supreme Court ruling smiled the entire time. Is there something wrong with her? Or is she, like Ivanka, a feckless cunt who supports, like, fucking what-ev-errr? Does Bimbo Blondie even understand? Ah, well, of course not. That’s why she’s feckless. She must have been a riot in HS. There is no excuse for reporting such a horrible legal decision with a smile, a decision that will affect thousands and end up killing hundreds unless she’s a sadist or a Muslim terrorist in disguise.
On CNN’s idea of morning news, the male lead spent much of the time rationalizing why the Muslim ban was not so bad after all. He used statistics and percentages to show that, really, the Middle Easterners didn’t have so much to complain about, South Americans were worse off. This is the cliché many of us were raised on: if you think you’re bad off, take a look at them. Don’t you feel better? This is denial of a high order. It shows a total lack of understanding of what’s going on. Worse, the women on set nodded their bobble heads and smiled as if this was right on target.
And people think Trump is clueless!
Sarah Huckleberry Hound Sanders was asked to leave a restaurant and now wants a security detail. Whiney coward bitch can’t take the heat. The SS is not meant for such as her and cannot stop restaurateurs from asking her to leave anyway. Next, she’ll want a taster, yeah? Maybe she should stick to McDonald’s or Arby’s. Arby’s has the beef. Oh. I’m sorry. That’s “meat.” Arby’s has the meat. Could be beef. Could be critter. We know McDonald’s isn’t horse any more. But neither serves a cheese plate. Eating as much cheese explains why Sarah Huckleberry Hound Sanders is so full of shit.
When it comes to immigration and border security, how long do you think it will be before Emma Gonzàlez and family will be picked up? Separately, of course. Not only does she have a spic name, she’s smarter than anyone on The Hill. Two sins. Two sins is better than one.
So much Fascism, so much denial.
Do any of these newscasters who criticize Trump and his own realize they’re goners sooner than later? If not jobless and running, in jail or dead. ‘Twould be more meaningful to report the truth than the denial. Denial: the ought and should page. The wrong page. Politics isn’t about ethics and pseudo-philosophical speculations on the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s about power. Might is right.
And me? I’ll be imprisoned or dead if I don’t manage to get out of this country beforehand. Poor, old and disabled, a sure ticket to the cleansing chamber for the insane. But, then, anyone who opposes Der Fürer is insane, right?
by Secor & vander Pfaltz
I look at the News–not just the TV Media, the printed sort as well–and I see. . .are these people taking Denial Pills? Are they historically ignorant? Which leads to, do these people read? They are like children scrabbling after every jigsaw puzzle piece thrown on their table without the slightest attempt toward making a picture even though the colors and designs are different. The world they are reporting on, the world they cry out against without saying anything but “foul!” is different from the one they’re bitching about and showing up as corrupt and ridiculous when their game is different from Trump’s. The rules are not the same. Oddly, the news media sees this and calls the Trump people out but never realizes this is the new order of business. The news media are in denial, in denial about things while the new world order is about motion.
This includes Fox. But they are in a different denial canyon, the canyon of the Fellow Traveler, a deep and self-perpetuating canyon from which Fox will not rise out, for they are the greatest of propaganda pundits and every one sided government needs its cheerleaders. Do they, then, know something the rest of us don’t? Not in the least. They know less than we do, so blinded are they by the rhetoric and alternative explanations that are their ammunition–that and either the melodramatic or the Grand Guignol masks they wear on demand. As if to say, “See how serious we are? We feel!” “As if” indeed. Crisis actors.
The rest of the news media? They get the picture but prefer focusing on this and that little bit. Like paying attention to this little red spot over your nose rather than looking right at the disease all over your face. No more does the news tell us anything other than the day’s reportage. No more does the news give us information. We are left completely out of history. Some of the news media are enablers.
The most voluble and, perhaps, knowledgeable of these remaining reporters occasionally puts a bright shining key up on her set. It is a listing of all of the people who have quit or been fired from Trump’s world. All of those who quit might as well wear signs on their backs: traitor. 1) Though being fired from Trump’s world might be a good quality in the future; 2) they gave up and, instead of getting in Trump’s way, even a little, even for a little time, they only helped Trump world to take shape.
And here we have the answer. . .and here we have the limited thinking that keeps us blind. “Look at all of those vacant jobs! And nobody’s filled them.” Yes. True. But what does it do? What does it mean? Well, it means that Trump is the boss. Right? Just like he’s the boss within the DOJ. . .and is planning on becoming the boss of the DOJ. What does that mean? Everyone can see it coming but nobody wants to confront it. To confront it and report on the consequences. And keep reporting. There are incidences galore but they are reported as unconnected individual incidences instead of the run away senseless behavior of Fascists.
Trump’s already breaking the law, circumventing the law and abusing his powers, most notably pardoning powers. One commentator has noted the pardons are politically motivated but never tells us how and why. It isn’t the pardon, it’s the pardoned and the timing. Everyone says Trump is a fool. But is he? He has a lot of knowledgeable sycophants behind him.
It doesn’t matter what Trump says or what he does, no matter how senseless or absurd, it will be reinvented as meaningful by his mad horde, the mob that rallies when he rallies. The mob that is necessary and will forever and always be the Friendly Traveler and really not quite getting just what it is they are enabling but having a grand old time of it anyway. It’s difficult to let go of the notice and fame that accrues with Trump. Their leader.
Another moment of the coming debacle is Trump’s alienation of people, countries. Why is he doing this? Because for his Fascist world it must be The world against Trump world. Then we have enemies fucking everywhere! Oh, my God! We must mobilize to fight them off! George II and Obama gave us a never-ending war in the Middle East but this Trumpian war will be a war that knows no cease, not even a moment. It will be a forever war. But the news media look at this alienating behavior and ask, “What is he doing?” And I ask, “Do you read?” And then realize how stupid of me: America doesn’t believe in history.
Ai-ee! What’s next?
There is no reason or meaning to trying to guess Trump’s next move. The news media can’t because they’ve got the wrong play book and they can’t understand someone who’s playing with a different playbook; that is, not playing the same old game. Or maybe it’s just that they don’t believe “it” is happening. No. Wait. Not possible. Yes, possible. Admit it and then they’d know what to do, what to think, what to speak. And they’d stop reporting these bits of bullshit being handed out like celebrity fragrances. Because they only see his behavior as bits and bits, they miss the picture. Such bullshit. How successful is the bullshit? The media bought it. The media is buying it.
But why only look to Trump? The first step toward Fascism is a one party rulership. For at least 15 years, there has been one party rule in this country: the Republican. They call themselves Red America. There are only two other countries that call themselves Red: Communist Russia and Communist China.
Communist America? Well, not so unlikely if Putin has his way. His kind of Communism is of the world domination kind. Generally speaking, Communism is for the East, Fascism is for the West. In any case, there is authoritarianism via the Republican Party. The One Party. They don’t need anywhere near 100% of the world. What’s left validates them by denying them. What has the Republican One Party accomplished? Nothing. Any laws passed were voted for by the left out party of Democrats. The People’s Party? They screwed the people to keep their government seats. Truly, as Machiavelli and Arendt hold, politics is about power, getting it and holding it.
The oligarchy in this country–this country, America–pays for it all. What? Did you think that oligarchs only exist in Russia and the Ukraine?
If nothing else, the leading woman of the RNC making a public announcement that people had better toe the line and get with the program or else should have sent the message. As obvious as this is, the news media just can’t seem to get their head around it. What does such a horrific demand mean? Well, my pretties, it means we got Fascism. Raise your hands. . .who wants to be an enemy of the State?
Oh, yes. Let’s not forget what’s happening around our southern border. Nothing new to Europe. Nothing new to Fascism. Notice how the social sweeps have extended their boundary from illegal immigrants to parts of families to legal residents. Soon, more than likely, anyone with a Spanish name. Thank goodness I’m safe! My name’s bastardized French and I’m older than y’all. All o’ y’all. No immigration laws in the 17th century. A time when everyone belonged and no one belonged.
How many police departments do we have? Five, maybe more.
How long have sweeps of communities been going on? Since the middle of Obama’s reign. He was not the Wunderkind most all Americans think he was. The horrors he fathered beneath his benevolent ventriloquist face make him the best sort of leader, according to Machiavelli. Was he part of the Fascist world? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But he did the oligarchs’ bidding. They paid for his victory.
Community pick-ups. In New York, Obama had a three day raid that netted 10,000 petty criminals and parole violators. Why? Because he could. Because he had to see if he could get away with it. Subsequent ICE raids were held. Not one person questioned the raids. A little outrage here, a little outrage there and nothing is accomplished. When’s the next round up?
Denial’s a great game.
But what of people?
Well, they’ve become more intolerant than they were. So much so that if just one of them doesn’t like something, no one should have it. No one shall have it. Damnit! Too bad for everyone else. Like or dislike is the rule. As is disgust. If they find something disgusting, it should not be allowed period. Ban the thing. Ban the person. That is, there should be a law against it. And there will be, you may be sure.
If I say something you don’t like, I should be banned–along with what I said. What do you not understand about this process?
Lord! How I wish I could whine! What a wonderful world I could finally live in where there’s only what I like–and the rest of you be damned. That’s what freedom’s about, ain’t it? Free to have it my way and fuck the rest of you. Right?
If authority says so, it’s so. It’s right and mete and you can get out of the country if you don’t like it. You’re free, yeh?
Yep. That’s how to believe and act. People can’t see past their immediate wants, like a child: immediate gratification, please. They may be fashioning their world, the world they believe everyone should have, but what of the authoritarian rulers who have the tolerance of Gila Monsters?
That’s right. No one can see past the wart on the ends of their noses. No one has any sense of consequence or responsibility. Why should they? They want an unchanging life. No surprises. The kind of life you get with an authoritarian regime. Fascism. Communism, too, to be truthful. Not that all Communisms are the same. Other than being authoritarian.
Authoritarianism. Someone to tell you what you can do. Someone to make your life decisions for you. That way, it’s not your responsibility. God help you if you don’t like it, though. Because, y’know, you wanted it so the anti-social sort would be shut up.
Whining is habit forming. Whiners always buckle under to authority.
Children. Children. Learn how to play together. . .or I’ll have to do it for you.
How fast can you change your habits when your Leader changes his mind about what is acceptable? Try this: Lu Xun, The True Story of Ah Q. Go ahead. Give it a try. It’s only 159 pp–that includes the original Chinese and some pictures, so less than 100 pages of simple English. Published in 1921.
talesofthefloatingworld 